What better way to celebrate the birthday of a friend than with cupcakes… and alcohol. These Drunken Chocolate Cupcakes are made with a chocolate liquor that adds a rich flavor to the cupcake and the chocolate buttercream. The ultimate party cupcake!

I’ve been online friends with Kimmie since almost the beginning of my blogging days. To be honest, I can’t even remember what brought us together but I do know that she has been super supportive of my blogging career and has become a great friend. It’s been fun to watch her grow in her blog over the last years. I’m so thrilled to be helping celebrate her birthday today!

In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the liquor, cocoa powder, and vanilla and whisk until combined. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, sift together the sugar, flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream and the eggs. SLOWLY add a few tablespoons of the chocolate mixture to the sour cream and eggs. Whisk to combine. In a slow stream, whisk in the remaining chocolate mixture until combined completely.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in wet. Using a whisk, stir until no more lumps remain.

Fill cupcake liners ¾ full. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Drunken Chocolate Buttercream

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whip the butter until smooth.

Add the dark chocolate cocoa powder and mix on medium-high until combined.

Pour in the melted, cool chocolate and mix until combined.

Add the sugar and salt and mix until incorporated. The frosting will be very thick.

Mix in the vanilla extract and chocolate liquor and mix until smooth. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix again for 20 seconds. Add more liquor if you want a thinner, softer, loser frosting.

Beat on high for 2-3 minutes, scrape the sides of the bowl and beat again for 1 more minute.

Assembly

Using a large round piping tip on a piping bag, pipe a large dollop/mound of frosting onto the top of the cupcake.

Press the cupcake and frosting upside down into a bowl of sprinkles until all of the frosting is covered. Use your hands to shape a dome.

Three words… Cucumbers Tomatoes Onions. Those three fresh vegetables with a simple dressing make the perfect summer salad!

My kids love vegetables. Seriously, my 3 year old son Matthew would eat baby cucumbers every day for his afternoon snack if I let him. Which, really isn’t a bad thing I just don’t grow cucumbers in my yard and he eats them so fast I run out! But, I do keep a variety of fresh veggies in the fridge stocked and both of my kids have grown up loving their fresh flavors.

This Cucumber Tomato Salad combines three distinct vegetable flavors into one great side dish. I’m not a huge fan of salad dressings so this salad is dressed simply with olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and a healthy seasoning of salt and pepper.

My husband and kids gobbled it up at dinner and we enjoyed the rest at lunch the next day. This salad is perfect because it can go with almost any summer meal. Whether you’re hosting a BBQ and need to bring a side or you’re making dinner for your family, it’s the perfect addition to any meal.

How beautiful does the Cucumber Tomato Salad look next to the hot dog and German potato salad? It’s perfect really.

Although Summer brings us some of the best fresh produce for baking, the heat doesn’t always make it easy. I’ve teamed up with some super sweet food bloggers to bring you a round-up of some of the most delicious no-bake desserts out there. So there won’t be any melted frosting or crazy high temperatures in your kitchen to make these desserts!

Looking for a way to reinvigorate your potato salad? Try this generations old German Potato Salad recipe made with yellow potatoes, hard boiled eggs and pickles.

I’ve been pretty lucky with the friends I’ve made while living in Germany. In particular, my friend Mareile and I not only share a love of coffee and our children (who are only 2 weeks apart) but we also love good food. Mareile has dual citizenship in both Germany and the USA and has a love for the food from both cultures.

Mareile was nice enough to share her families recipe for potato salad with me. She told me the recipe comes from her Mom’s grandma… which means it’s 4 generations old!

The biggest difference between German and American potato salad is that German potato salad is usually served warm, not chilled. Mareile’s recipe doesn’t call for it to be served warm, but I found it was best when it wasn’t chilled. Meaning the salad was best when served at room temperature. Another difference is that American potato salad uses a lot of mayonnaise, but you’ll find none of that in this recipe.

Let’s talk about a few of the ingredients…

First, the potatoes. The key to this potato salad is to use a firm, yellow potato and to generously season it with salt while it cooks. I know a third cup of salt seems like a lot to cook with, but trust me you’ll never boil potatoes without it ever again. The salt brings and adds so much flavor to the potatoes that you’ll want to eat them by the spoonful as soon as they get out of the boiling water. Also, make sure not to over cook the potatoes. You want them soft, yet firm still. We don’t want a mashed potato salad here.

Fleischwurst. You may be wondering what the heck it is. Basically, it’s the German version of bologna. It’s a mild pork sausage that you can easily buy at any deli in Germany. If you’re making this salad in the USA, you could sub your favorite bologna, mild sausage or even bacon. There’s no wrong choice here.

Since there’s no mayo in this salad dressing, Schmand is used to tie it all together. Schmand is basically German sour cream and any sour cream, greek yogurt or white creamy sauce could be subbed. Just don’t use mayo. You don’t need much of it in this recipe, so I suggest starting with a couple tablespoons and going from there.

I shared this recipe with my neighbor who is also German and she loved it, ate the entire bowl I gave her to sample then asked for the recipe. I’d say that’s a winning recipe!

Cut the potatoes into 1 inch pieces and put them into a large pot with the ⅓ cup of salt.

Cook the potatoes over high heat until they are al dente or not completely cooked and still a bit firm. Strain the water from the potatoes and let them cool completely.

While the potatoes are cooling, dice 4 of the eggs and the pickles into small cubes. Slice the fleischwurst into bite size pieces or strips. There is no wrong or right way to cut these ingredients, you just don't want them so small you can't taste or see them or so big they are too large to eat in a bite.

In a large bowl, toss the al dente potatoes, diced eggs, pickles and sliced fleischwurst. Add 50ml of pickle juice from the pickle jar, the schmand and salt/pepper to taste. Gently fold together to combine until coated completely.

Spoon salad into your serving bowl. Slice the remaining hard boiled eggs and garnish the top with them.

Why settle for cupcake liners that allow the oil and grease of your cupcakes to soak through? Why settle for a beautiful cupcake liner that you can’t enjoy after you bake in it because the design has disappeared? You don’t have to settle any more!

I have tested hundreds of liners over the last 6 years of baking cupcakes and I have come to several conclusions. Not all cupcake liners are made the same! The past weekend I made my rich dark chocolate cake in Wilton cupcake liners and in Sweets & Treats Boutique liners. I wanted to see the difference side by side and really compare the pros and cons of the two liners.

Wilton Cupcake Liners:

PRO:

The Wilton cupcake liners come in hundreds of colors and patterns for all holidays and occasions.

They are sold in almost every grocery store, craft store and baking supply store.

CON:

The Wilton cupcake liners are NOT grease-proof.

The grease/oils from the cake seep through the paper making the outside greasy and messy.

The color and design of the liners do not stay bright and/or visible when baking a dark color cake batter because of the oils that have seeped through the paper.

Sweets & Treats Boutique Cupcake Liners:

PRO:

The Sweets & Treats Boutique cupcake liners ARE grease-proof.

When baking dark colored cake, these liners keep their color and pattern with little to no oil soaking through the paper.

The STB liners come in a large variety of trendy patterns and colors.

These liners are priced reasonably for the amazing value of the product.

CON:

The STB liners do not come in many floral or holiday patterns. (This is just my personal preference – although it doesn’t take away from the awesomeness of the product. I’d just like to see some cute snowflakes at winter or eggs at Easter, etc).

THE VERDICT:

Personally, when I purchase cupcake liners that have colors or patterns on them it’s for a reason – to coordinate with the theme of the cupcake and/or party they are for. I hate spending money on a product that is useless. And that’s how I feel the Wilton liners are… useless. You can see the difference in the photo above.

The Wilton liner on the left is wet from grease and has not maintained it’s color or pattern. However, the Sweets & Treats Boutique liner is almost completely dry and it’s color is bright! Why would you ever want to bake your cupcake in anything other than STB after seeing this?

FULL DISCLOSURE:

I met the owner of Sweets & Treats Boutique, Shannon, online a few years ago through a fellow baking blogger and we instantly became friends. Shannon has sent me so many of her liners over the years to try that I’m pretty much stocked for life, but let me reassure you that our friendship does not change the fact that I think her liners are better than any other on the market.

Shannon has a passion for her business and she works every day to make it better. Shannon saw how dark my chocolate cake baked in her liners and she was determined to come up with a product even better than what she already had. A cupcake liner that could stand up to even my chocolate cupcake recipe. And guess what… Shannon did it.

MEET THE NEW STB LINER:

The cupcake on the left is baked in a mini Wilton cupcake liner and on the right is the new and improved grease proof bake bright liner from Sweets & Treats Boutique. ZERO grease comes through this paper leaving 100% of the color and design visible. How amazing is that?

Don’t worry… the cupcake liners will be folded and formed when they’re ready to be sold to the public… I tested the paper out for Shannon with my chocolate cake recipe and giving her feedback on the results. But seriously though, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…

Sweets & Treats Boutique Bake Bright Grease Proof Liners time and time again prove to be the best in the industry at keeping their shape and color, even with the toughest of batters like my chocolate cake!

And one more awesome thing… all the new liners in the new #BakeBright Grease Proof liners will be made 100% in the USA! How amazing is that!?

Try #BakeBright Liners Yourself!

And to prove to you how amazing the STB liners are, Shannon has offered a $25 Store Credit to two of readers so you can try them too! Simply fill out the form below to be entered to WIN!

If you’ve been following JavaCucpake for the last four years you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of my local gelato store Pinguino Eis in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Last September, Phillip (the owner) and Luca allowed me into their store to view the process of making the gelato. It was so fascinating to see the process first hand how they make the most delicious ice cream I’ve ever had.

Recently, Pinguino Eis began offering ice cream cakes or Eiskuchen in addition to all the other deliciousness they serve at their cafe. This happened to be perfect timing because my husband Dave requested and ice cream cake for his birthday!

We chatted with Ariana (co-owner) about the flavors we wanted and she wrote down all the details. Dave had a vision of her perfect ice cream cake and we knew that vision could be fulfilled by our friends at Pinguino!

From bottom to top…

Cookie crust

White chocolate gelato

Espresso gelato

Toffee bits & almonds on the side

Fresh whipped cream

Chocolate covered espresso beans

More toffee bits & almonds on top

Can can think of anything more delicious than this? Not only is all their gelato fresh made daily, but the entire cake was made by hand from scratch! This is why I love living in Germany so much. Everything is made by hand with love. It’s just the only way they know how to do things here.

A big thanks to Phillip, Ariana, Luca and the entire crew at Pinguino Eis for helping make Dave’s birthday so special!

Kick your banana bread up a notch by transforming them into these delicious Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cupcakes!

There is not an awesome reason why I made these cupcakes. I just had a few bananas that were super ripe and wanted to use them up. Really, I was bored with traditional banana bread and decided to come up with a new recipe to use over ripe bananas.

That and I wanted to take pictures of the cupcakes next to my new silk peonies. Which I am obsessed with this summer. Peonies are my favorite summer flower and I love having them fresh for as long as I can during the summer.

Since I had these bright pink silk peonies, I knew I needed to bake whatever I was making in the pink grease proof bake bright liners from Sweets & Treats Boutique. I mean seriously, how cute are these liners?

So for the cupcakes I used a basic banana bread recipe for the cake and added chocolate chips to it. I mean seriously, everything is better with chocolate chips. Under the cake is a cookie crust made with Nilla Wafers. So yum. Finally, the cupcake is topped with a dollop of cream cheese frosting and a crunchy topping. So much nom nom nom happening in this cupcake it’s almost too much to handle!

So between these pretty amazing tasting cupcakes and my peonies, I managed to take 100 pictures of them. I know, a little over board but whatever. It makes me happy.

Rhubarb isn’t just for pie and it surely shouldn’t only be paired with strawberries. Kick things up a notch this rhubarb season by making my Rhubarb Cherry Bundt Cake! It’s moist, dense, tart, sweet, full of fruit and oh so delicious!

This cake begins with fresh rhubarb soaking in sugar overnight accomplishing two things. First, it breaks down the sugars in the rhubarb making them softer and not as tough. Second, adding sugar allows the natural juices in the rhubarb to come out and makes a delicious rhubarb syrup which can be used in the cake or in other baking.

The cherries in this cake are a German brand and are a sweet black cherry. You could use any cherry in this cake, but I’d really suggest staying away from cherry pie filling or maraschino cherries. It’s really best with jarred or fresh.

The glaze on top adds the most delicious bit of sweet, tartness that accents the rest of the cake beautifully! My 15 year old daughter ate almost half this cake over the course of a week or so. After the first bite, she said, “Mom, sometimes you bake things and they’re so good I could just kiss you forever!” If that’s not a glowing recommendation for this cake… I don’t know what is!

If you’re looking for something unique to make with your rhubarb this summer, you must try this Rhubarb Cherry Bundt Cake!

At least 24 hours before you plan to make this cake, toss the cut rhubarb in the sugar. Cover and refrigerate. The sugar will soften the rhubarb and create a syrup. When ready to make the batter, strain the rhubarb from the syrup and reserve it for later.

Cake

Grease and flour a 10-cup bundt pan.

Using a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition.

In a measuring cup, stir together the cherry juice and buttermilk.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add half the flour mixture to the bowl and mix on med-low until just combined. Add the milk/juice and mix until just combined. Finish adding the remaining flour, scrape the sides of the bowl and mix until just combined.

In your prepared bundt pan, lay several pieces of rhubarb and cherries on the bottom. This will create a beautiful top for your cake. Toss the remaining rhubarb and cherries in 1-2 Tbsp flour and fold into the batter. Spoon the batter evenly into the pan and spread the top evenly.

Bake for 45 minutes, rotate pan and bake another 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 30 minutes.

Poke several holes into cake and drizzle or brush the ¼ cup rhubarb syrup over the cake. Allow it to sit another 10 minutes or so to let the syrup sink in.

Invert the pan and the cake should slide out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Optional: Drizzle or brush more syrup over the top of the cake before glazing.

Glaze

In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until you have a smooth, runny consistency. Add more sugar if it's too thin or more juice if it's too thick. When the cake is completely cool, pour the glaze over the top so some of it drips down the sides.

Rhubarb isn’t just for pie, it’s for cake too! This summer take your rhubarb skills to the next level with this moist and delicious Rhubarb Upside Down Cake!

Before this summer, I had only made rhubarb once and it wasn’t amazing. I thought I could just pop it into a cake batter for cupcakes and it’d be amazing. I was wrong. I had no idea what I was doing. So, this summer when the rhubarb was in season and so beautiful, I decided to try baking with it again.

You might be thinking… WHAT? I thought upside down cakes were for pineapples. Well, they are but they can really be for any kind of fruit including the tart rhubarb.

This recipe starts with soaking the rhubarb in sugar so it begins to breakdown the tartness and toughness of the stalks. The bake batter itself is light with a big crumb and isn’t too sweet which makes it perfect for the sweet and tartness of the rhubarb. Once the cake is flipped out of the pan, the bottom is a baked crumb topping that adds a crunch in each bite. Pure rhubarb perfection.

I love that the color of the rhubarb is bright on the top of the cake. It makes me want to dig in and eat it all off first. But really, the best bite is when you get a piece of rhubarb, a chunk of cake and the crumble on the bottom all at once.

Add a cup of coffee and you’ve got a perfect afternoon treat or breakfast! This Rhubarb Upside Down Cake would be perfect for a brunch of afternoon coffee with friends… or for dessert even! I love it’s simple, traditional feel… but kicked up a notch with the rhubarb!

Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Butter the sides and bottom of the pan. Wrap a thick piece of foil under the pan bringing it up the sides then set the pan on a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, toss the rhubarb, corn starch and sugar together and set aside.

In another bowl, sift together the cake flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar for the cake together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. One at a time, add the eggs making sure to scrape the bowl after each egg and mixing well until adding another. Mix in the vanilla. Mix the yogurt and the vinegar together (it's okay if it looks curdled) then add it to the batter until completely combined. In three parts, add the flour and mix on medium speed until just combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and mix by hand until smooth. Do not over mix.

Crust

In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, flour, sugar and salt until completely combined and crumbly.

Assembly & Baking

Lay the rhubarb flat on the bottom of the prepared pan, until the pan is completely covered and all the rhubarb has been used.

Gently pour the batter over the rhubarb and smooth out flat using an offset spatula.

Spread clumps of the crust over the top of the batter in an even layer.

Bake for 75-90 minutes or until the crumble is golden brown and a toothpick comes out of the center of the cake clean.

Place the cake on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before running a knife around the cake to loosen it from the pan. Invert the pan onto your serving plate, release the sides of the springform and slide off the cake. Gently remove the bottom of the pan & parchment paper from the rhubarb.

We are in the height of asparagus season here in Germany and I had to take advantage of all the beautiful, green, delicious fresh asparagus at the market by making a Asparagus Bacon Quiche!

A few weeks ago, I hosted a “My Favorite Things” party where 12 of my closest friends and Army family came over for breakfast, mimosas and a little spoiling. I knew I wanted to serve them something that I could make ahead of time since it was a morning party so I chose quiche!

I whipped up my Southwestern Fajita Quiche and tried out this recipe for Asparagus Bacon Quiche. Both were made the day before the party and refrigerated over night. I brought the quiche to room temperature before serving and they were perfect for this brunch!

Unfortunately, since I was serving this quiche at a party, I didn’t have a chance to cut into it and show you the inside of the quiche. Trust me when I say that it is out of this world amazing. Full of whipped eggs, fresh asparagus, mushrooms, peppers, thick cut bacon and cheese… my Asparagus Bacon Quiche is a guaranteed winner!

1½ cup white cheese, shredded (I used German butterkase, but you can use any soft white cheese)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375F degrees. Spray the bottom of a 28cm tart pan with cooking spray. Lay the prepared pie crust in the pan and press into the bottom and sides. Cut off any extra crust on the top edges. Place the prepared pan on a baking sheet and set aside.

Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Once boiling add the cleaned and trimmed asparagus into the post and boil for 1 minute. Remove immediately and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.

In the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and the heavy cream together for 3-4 minutes on medium-high speed. Salt and pepper to taste.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon chunks until browned on all sides. Remove to a paper towel to drain and reserve the grease in the pan. Set aside a few pieces for garnish later.

Add the bell peppers and toss them in the oil, cooking until just softened. Mix in the chopped scallions and mushrooms and toss together.

Set aside 5-6 stalks of asparagus and cut the remaining into 1 inch pieces. Add this and the bacon to the pan and toss together. Salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat.

Spread this mixture evenly across the bottom of the pie crust in the prepared pan. Pour the whipped eggs about ¾ of way to the top. Sprinkle over the cheese and gently mix in with a spoon so it's not just laying on the top. Pour in the remaining egg mixture until it reaches the top of the crust. Place the reserved asparagus and bacon across the top.

Bake on the baking sheet for 50-70 minutes or until the top is golden brown and is solid through the middle.

Cool for 20 minute and serve immediately or chill over night and serve cold the next day.

My sweet neighbor Amanda had a baby this week! A sweet little boy (well, not so little he weighed 10lbs, 11oz!) with the cutest chubby cheeks and the softest skin who just lays peacefully in my arms as I ooohh and awwww over him. Of course, I had to bake for this sweet baby’s Mamma and Grandma and decided on Amanda’s favorite cookie recipe of mine. Sugar cookies!

Instead of baking plain cookies, I decided to mix things up a bit and shape the dough into pretzels. I mean, we are in Germany after all! And to add another dimension of flavor, I added cinnamon to the batter and to the frosting! These Pretzel Shaped Cinnamon Sugar Cookies are soft, savory and sweet at the same time and so delicious!

To decorate the pretzels, I left a few without frosting and used white jimmies to act as the “salt” on the pretzel. Some I drizzled with chocolate while others I frosted and coated in rainbow jimmies and nonpareils. These really are so delicious and so cute… you need them in your life!

I made a quick video of how I rolled and shaped the pretzels. I hope it helps with you making them yourself!

Take your favorite cookie to the next level by transforming them in to decadent, delicious Snickerdoodle Macarons!

So, I’ve made macarons before but they’ve never been my favorite dessert to make. They’re temperamental and if you don’t get the batter ‘just right’ the come out terrible. However, when a friend is eating a gluten-free diet, loves macarons and is moving away you set aside your aversion for making them and get to baking!

Snickerdoodles are one of my most favorite cookies… probably because of the overwhelming cinnamon flavor which is one of my most absolute favorite flavors. I thought it would be super easy to incorporate the cinnamon flavor of the snickerdoodle into a macaron without too much many structural issues. For these macarons, I started with a recipe from Diary of a Mad Hausfrau – my goto for unique macaron recipes. I took her recipe for the shells and my recipe for buttercream and created these Snickerdoole Macarons!

The cinnamon flavor in these macarons is super intense, but in a good way. The shells are crisp and the filling is sweet. Seriously, one of my most favorite macarons I’ve ever made!

So, if you’re feeling adventurous, give these Snickerdoodle Macarons a try! They’re easier than you may think to make so worth it in the end!

Line an oversized baking sheet (I used the Wilton Mega Cookie Pan 15 in. x 21 in. (38,1 cm x 53,3 cm)) with parchment paper. If you're using a template, place it under the parchment paper.

Weigh out your egg whites and set them aside to come to room temperature.

Using a food processor, pulse together the almond flour and powdered sugar until combined and no lumps remain. Remove 2 Tbsp of the mixture and replace it with 2 Tbsp of ground cinnamon. Plus again until combined.

Once the eggs are room temperature, whip them in the bowl of your stand mixer. Once they begin to get frothy, add the sugar 1-2 tsp at a time. Continue mixing until you reach stiff peaks or until you flip the bowl upside down and nothing moves. Add the cream of tartar and the salt and whip 5 more seconds.

Gently pour the flour mixture into the bowl with the whipped egg whites. Begin folding the two together with a rubber spatula quickly until it becomes one mixture. Slow your folding pace and check the consistency. Drop a dollop of batter back onto itself, if it "flows like lava" and disappears back into itself in 5-7 seconds, then it's ready. However, if it doesn't, fold a few more times, check again and repeat until it does. If it's runny all over the place, you'll need to start over because you've over mixed it.

Fit a piping bag with a medium round piping tip. Fill the bag with the batter then squeeze 1½-2in circles of batter onto the prepared sheet. I counted 1-2-3-4 with each squeeze of the bag so I knew each were ever - or at least tried to be even. The template is also a great way to make sure they are all uniform in size.

Let the macarons sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes or until the tops are firm.

Bake on the center rack for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pan after 10 minutes. Place another baking sheet on the rack above the macarons to prevent the tops from burning.

Transfer the macarons to a wire rack to cool completely after allowing them to sit for about 1 minute after removing from the oven.

Fill a piping bag fitting with a medium round tip with the frosting. Squeeze a small dollop of frosting onto the flat size of one macaron. Find a second macaron the same size and sandwich the two together. Repeat until all the macarons have been filled.

Some time ago I was chatting with my mother-in-law about sweet treats when she said, “Oh, next time I see you you’ll have to make a Mokka Sahne Torte!” I’d never made one in my life (nor tasted it actually), but I knew that I had to try it. Even with my limited German I knew it was a Mocha Cream Torte… you had me at mocha! 😉

I made it for the first time while we were visiting our family in Savannah. It was delicious and of course my MIL enjoyed it! My only snag was that we couldn’t find my sister-in-law’s springform pan. So I just used a regular cake pan. (And yes we did find the springform pan the next day. LOL)

I used a German recipe (thank you to my hubby for translating!) so this does require breaking out your kitchen scale and using the “ml” lines on your liquid measuring cup. In doing some baking research though, I’ve learned that measuring by weight is actually more accurate than volume measurements. I’m thinking I need to add a nice kitchen scale to my kitchen wish list.

Another unique point about this recipe is that it uses vanilla sugar (Vanillinzucker) and a few packets of whip cream stabilizer. I see these often in European recipes and being in the Chicagoland area it’s easy to go to one of the many international markets or a Polish deli down the street and find them there. Savannah is a different story, but I did find Dr Oetker’s brand of both the vanilla sugar and the “Whip It” at Cost Plus World Market.

This cake is light and not overly sweet. Topped with the fluffy coffee whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Pure heaven! Go ahead… Have some for breakfast with your morning coffee. I won’t tell. 😉

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep a 9" springform pan (using a baking spray or with butter and flour... I prefer the baking spray. I've found the cakes come out cleaner.)

In the bowl of stand mixer, whip the egg yolks with the water for about a minute.

Add ⅔ of the sugar and the vanilla sugar packet and beat on medium high speed until the mixture turns to pale yellow color.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites and remaining ⅓ of the sugar using a hand mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form.

Add the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture and gently fold it in until just barely combined.

Sift the flour, starch, and baking powder into the mixture and very gently fold that in until it's just combined. Do not overmix.

Pour into prepared springform pan and bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Coffee Whipped Cream

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream and instant coffee. Mix for about a minute to dissolve the coffee granules.

Add the powdered sugar and vanilla sugar and mix on medium high speed until the cream begins to thicken. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the whip cream stabilizer and mix on high until cream is stiff.

Assembly

Cut the sponge cake in half and place it on your cake plate. Top the first half with about half of the coffee cream.

Place the second cake layer on top of the cream and spread the rest of the coffee cream on it. You can cover the sides if you like, but I just ran my offset spatula around the outside to even it out left the sides "naked".

Top with shavings of your favorite dark chocolate and enjoy!

*This cake is best served chilled. Keep it in a covered container in the fridge until ready to serve.